[amayze]

Hi Tom,

Good luck mate. I've a similar story myself, worked my way up the corporate ladder until the business owner got so greedy with taking out money from the business that we eventually went into liquidation.

Spent the best part of the past 6 months applying for in excess of 200 jobs. The final straw for me was when I was told (and not for the first time) I was overqualified despite offering to accept a £17,000 pay cut.

A mate of mine suggested window cleaning and I too owe some gratitude to Dave the Window Cleaning Coach! Another mate has leant me a set of ladders and I've started out for myself four weeks ago with no more than £20 !!

I now have just under 60 customers and every week I get at least two new customers. I recently posted some advice on a thread called 'newbie', please have a look there .......and if you can't find it drop me a line !

Andrew

[tomlions]

cheers andrew and hats off to you mate, sounds like your going in the right direction and hope i go the same way, also i'v read and re read every newbie thread and post trying to suck up information, but i daresay i'll be in touch, cheers mate

tom

[BradMonks]

Hi Tomlions...similar sort of situation myself but i have gone into this industry from another angle, namely software. My best mate has asked me to take a share in Window Cleaner Pro (round scheduling and debt management software) and i am AMAZED at how friendly and approachable the guys (and ladies) in this industry are. Having spent 25 years in Account Management and Sales & Marketing in the automotive aftermarket it is really nice that these guys all help each other and are, in the main, genuinely nice people.

As a salesman i wouldnt be doing my job if i didnt let you know about the free 45 day trial of our software from WindowCleanerPro.com !!!

Good luck Tom and i am sure with the background information and research you have done that you will be a resounding success

[leapstallbuildings]

hi all, want to apologise in advance for the length of this, i'll start by saying i'v now got a new found respect for window cleaners and especially those that use this site, your willingness to give out info and advice in this cynical world is very refreshing and i congratulate you all......
i'm an engineer (raf 20 years, civvy 3 years) i really dont know if i'll have a job at xmas so i says to the wife ( she works in recruitment ) what the hell am i gonna do ? she gives it 3 days then drops the bomb on me at dinner... be a window cleaner she says.. i sat there open mouthed and say to her i'v put jets into the sky and ships on the sea, qualified and with letters after my name, are you mental i ask...think about it she says....
so i did, and thought and thought..then thought bugger it and googled window cleaning where i discovered dave at wc coach and through his site you lot !! what an incredible experience this has been, its a very different world you are in and i'm genuinely humbled by your experience and savvy... so after reading through all and i mean all of the faq's and getting info about my area , competition, kit etc which took about a month i put together a business presentation to the wife with all the info i had gathered ( a lot ) and she loved it...
that was ten days ago, since then i've traded in my car for a van, ordered the bits of kit so i can start practicing and got 7 customers (friends who dont have a wc )....
so my start date is the 2nd of nov by which time i'll have been solely practicing your dark art, i will be starting off part time as i do shift work and see how things develop, i would like to keep you informed of my progress and i'll be asking questions and advice from you all, so thanks for your patience and again well played to all of you

Just do it I reckon.  Get out there and knock on doors.  Price properly and eventually, you will have enough for a reasonable income.  Once your round is full, take on better work and dump the custies that mess you about.
I started with zero turnover in 1991.  It took a while to build it as there were very high mortgage rates when I first started.  I'll never get rich doing it but could have done a lot better if I had been prepared to go through the stress of employing.  I earn a decent living from it - even better since I switched to WFP.  I suggest you go to WFP as soon as poss as you will be unable to do certain types of work without it.  No rush though.  Maybe see if W/Cing is for you before spending too much as many start out with great enthusiasm but soon decide it's not for them.

[kenaltobelli]

tom just thinking what i would do in your shoes; been self employed so long forgoten
what its like out there. your point about lowest biders ect is the type of thing youd know
like say the scrap bis i had a go at that and within 3 years the amount of green paper work
and what you can and cant do made it hard to carry on. same with windows in 10 yrs
it changes   but i mentiond auto leky id like to have done that
mate sprays cars says thats gone to the dogs and he does top end stuff.

[JRDEasiReach]

Best of luck to you tom and like yourself im new to the window cleaning im a pole man and have been at it for over 6 weeks now.